Gazans flock to fence for 69th week of protests

By Mohamed Majed

GAZA, Palestine (AA) - Palestinians on Friday converged near a security fence that separates Gaza Strip from Israel to demonstrate against Israel’s decades-long occupation of Palestinian territories.

Gaza’s National Authority for Return and Breaking the Siege (NARBS), which organizes weekly rallies, called on Palestinians to attend demonstration and affirm on their right to return to their villages in historical Palestine.

The NARBS dubbed the Friday rallies as "the massacre of Wadi Homs", in reference to demolition of buildings in the area.

In mid-July, bulldozers accompanied by hundreds of Israeli soldiers moved into the neighborhood of Wadi Homs in East Jerusalem and began to raze several buildings in the area.

Since the Gaza rallies began in March last year, nearly 270 protesters have been martyred -- and thousands more wounded -- by Israeli troops deployed near the buffer zone.

Demonstrators demand an end to Israel’s 12-year blockade of the Gaza Strip, which has shattered the coastal enclave’s economy and deprived its two million inhabitants of many basic amenities.